


The Champion

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2018-10-02
Packaged: 2019-07-23 20:44:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16166675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Viktor reflects on how far he's come and catches up with an old friend. Viktor belongs to sso_viktor7.





	The Champion

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sso_Viktor7](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sso_Viktor7/gifts).



Nobody knew where he’d come from. Oh, it wasn’t like he’d appeared overnight, though it sometimes seemed that way. Viktor Queenhurricane had been riding at Jorvik Stables for many years now, competing in the competitions and training his horses. But nobody had really noticed him, at first. To them, he was just another rider, training his horses and entering competitions in an effort to compete for the highest score. But he was humble. With his winnings, he didn’t splash out on the fanciest tack or the best clothing. Sure, he wore nicer clothing than he used to, nice jackets and jeans and boots and gloves and a nice helmet from well-known brands. But that was mostly just for the look, and for the confidence boost that it brought him. And he had nicer tack for his horses, especially Champion, his chestnut Hanoverian, but that was only because he loved his horses and wanted the best for them.

And it wasn’t just that he wanted to be taken seriously. If anything, not being taken seriously helped him. The other riders underestimated him, turned their noses up at him, thought that he wasn’t worth worrying about. The looks on their faces when he beat their best times was worth all of the jibes. Barely.

But the first time Viktor entered the arena wearing his good clothing and good tack, sitting up with perfect posture in his saddle and smiling coolly at his competition as he passed… that was a moment that would stick with them forever. Both the competitors and Viktor. 

“Where did you come from?” one of the male riders asked, staring at Viktor with envy.

“I’ve been here the whole time,” said Viktor, speaking with more confidence than he’d ever felt before. He remembered a time when he used to just keep his head down and avoid these more professional riders, when he’d feel like an outsider in this arena, like he didn’t belong, like he was trespassing on sacred land. But now…

“Really?” asked one of the girls. “Surely I’d recognise you.” She flashed him a grin, which Viktor ignored. Even if it had been a guy winking at him, though, Viktor wouldn’t have reacted any differently. He didn’t need love now. Not from anyone else, though it was nice. He loved himself, the most important love of all, and it showed with every fibre of his being. He didn’t need the yellow hoodie to pretend to be happy anymore, not when he was truly happy.

“The name’s Viktor,” said Viktor. “Viktor Queenhurricane. Remember it.” He grinned, then took off, Champion easily carrying him around the arena for a few warmup laps before Viktor took him over to the racetracks. He’d had the top score on the Jorvik Stables Race for weeks now, the score earning him more than enough money every day to feed his horses. But he sent most of his earnings back to Puerto Rico, still rebuilding and needing help after the hurricane that had almost ruined it.

“Hey, Viktor! Ready to try for a new top score on the Jorvik Stables Race?” asked the girl at the starting line of the racetracks.

“Hmm. Nope,” said Viktor after glancing at the scores. His name was still on top, where it belonged. The days of that making him nervous had long passed- now, it was a point of pride for him.

“Oh,” said the girl. “Well then, you’re more than welcome to try the Elite one.”

“I think I’m advanced enough for that,” said Viktor with a laugh. The girl nodded and got out her stopwatch, ready to count him down, while Viktor made sure that Champion was ready. His horse seemed ready, his eyes clear, ears alert, everything about him ready to race and ready to perform to his best ability.

“Are you ready?” asked the girl. Viktor nodded, stroking Champion’s neck before putting his hands back on the reins.

“Couldn’t be more ready,” said Viktor, facing the track ahead and feeling his mind calm as he thought about the best way to win this.

“Okay,” said the girl, holding up her stopwatch. “Three, two, one, go!”

Champion sprang into action on the last word, breezing through the gate and over the first jump with the greatest ease. Stein had to jump out of the way while Viktor wondered why the man was still in the paddock while a race was on, and then Champion thundered through the stables and made the graceful, easy-looking leaps down the slope, never faltering, even for a second.

The riders in the arena had to stop and stare at the rider who raced by, leaving them in shock as he easily jumped over the fences without clipping a single one. But Viktor didn’t stop to gloat or enjoy their surprise, focusing instead on finishing this track in the fastest time possible.

As he breezed in through the finish line, riding Champion to a gentle stop, the race girl looked at him in surprise, his entrance having blown her hair back. She blinked, stopping the timer and then blinking at the time displayed. She laughed.

“Wow!” said the girl, grinning as she showed the time to him. Viktor leaned forward, pleased to find that the time was the fastest one. Not bad, for his first time doing this race in a while.

“Good job,” said Viktor, leaning forward and petting his beloved steed’s neck. Champion snorted, nuzzling Viktor’s hand.

“I’ll say,” said the girl, looking positively delighted. “Keep this up and all of Jorvik Stables’ competition money will be going to you.”

“That’s the plan,” said Viktor, very much enjoying the swell of pride in his chest. He remembered when he’d tamped that down, not wanting to give himself the credit. But now, he knew. It was his riding that had achieved this, the training of his horse, he’d run the track. So he should be proud of himself.

“Are you thinking of entering in the big championship at the end of the month?” asked the girl as she wrote down the new top score.

“Yeah,” said Viktor. “I’ve been training for it for ages. I think me and Champ should have an easy time of it.”

“Wow, I wish I had your confidence,” said the girl with a laugh. “Looking forward to seeing you there, Viktor.”

“Oh, I’ll be there,” said Viktor. He remembered a time when he would’ve turned down such an offer, not feeling confident enough or ready enough to do it. But now… now, he was ready for anything. He’d survived Pandoria, he’d survived heartache, far more heartache than anyone should ever suffer (not that anyone should suffer), but he’d made it through. And if he could beat all of that, he really could do anything.

Leaving Jorvik Stables for now, wanting Champion to rest after that race, Viktor headed down to the harbour where he dismounted and stood beside Champion while he waited for the ferry. He felt like visiting an old friend, the one who’d started this change in him.

The Cape West ferry had a golden leaf jammed in the closing mechanism, Viktor saw it flutter out and land in the water as the gate clattered up and the ramp clattered down. He easily swung himself back into the saddle, riding Champion onto the ferry and sitting there to gaze out at the water twinkling in the sunlight. Champion was a warm, comforting presence, just like he’d always been. Viktor rubbed his neck again, glad that he’d stuck around after all.

The ferry trip to Cape West was smooth, not upsetting Champion too much. But the ferries here were great, even if not many people used them anymore.

As he disembarked the ferry, Viktor took a deep breath of the salty, fishy air. It wasn’t the best smell in the world, but it was one that he associated with his friend, so he didn’t mind it. He wondered where she was, if she’d be in the kitchen baking like that first time or training one of her many horses. She had to have over 300 now, surely.

Viktor decided to go to the house first, just to check if there was a horse there or not. And if there was the smell of baking about, she’d be home. A smile curled his lips as he remembered the many times he’d tried to smuggle in extra ingredients for the brownies, but she’d always found the bag and firmly told him no. But she’d appreciated the joke. Although she had let him make a ‘special’ batch of cookies once. That memory had stung, once. But not anymore. Now, it was fine. He was fine. It was in the past, where it belonged, and it could stay there. Part of his transformation had been Viktor deciding to live more in the present, live more for the future.

Finding nobody home at the red fishing cottage (and smelling no baking, though there was the strong scent of cat about the place), Viktor mounted Champion after dismounting to knock and rode along the bridge. He’d intended to only trot, or at most, canter. But he found himself galloping, looking forward to seeing his friend. Champion gave a whinny, pricking his ears up, when he saw the bay horse currently being groomed outside of the Goldenleaf Stables. And Viktor raised his hand with a wave and a grin when he saw the horse’s rider, who looked up from cleaning Starknight’s hoof. She put the hoof down, grinning when she saw her friend.

“Hey, Vik,” said Louisa, putting the hoof pick away and nodding to Starknight to return to the paddock. Starknight happily trotted away after whickering a greeting to Champion.

“Hi, Louisa,” said Viktor, dismounting Champion once he’d reached the stables. He gave his friend a hug, which she gladly reciprocated.

“I haven’t seen you in this neck of the woods for a while,” said Louisa. “What brings you here?”

“Just felt like seeing an old friend,” said Viktor. Louisa scoffed.

“You say that like we don’t regularly text each other,” said Louisa.

“Well, yeah, but you know what I mean,” said Viktor. Louisa smiled.

“Yeah, I do,” said Louisa. “How’ve you been?”

“Amazing,” said Viktor, grinning as the confidence welled to the surface once again. Even with his newfound confidence, he could still feel pride in his accomplishments. He was confident, not cocky. “I just got the top score for the Jorvik Stables Elite Race.” Louisa gasped in delight, clapping her hands together.

“That’s great news!” said Louisa. “Congrats!”

“Thank you,” said Viktor, still grinning. “Man, if the old me could see me now…”

“He’d be surprised,” said Louisa. “But I think it’d be reassuring for him to know just how much better it can get.”

“Yeah,” said Viktor, sobering a little at the thought. It almost brought tears to his eyes. “I guess I came here to thank you for those things you said to me, way back then.”

“Letting go is hard,” said Louisa, remembering that afternoon. “But it can be helpful, too. Especially when what you’re clinging to is hurting you so much. At least, I think that’s what I said.”

“That was the basic gist of it,” said Viktor. “It helped. A lot.”

“Even my bad advice about throwing yourself into training?” asked Louisa. Viktor laughed.

“Well, it might not have worked the same way for you as it did for me,” said Viktor. “But I think you know that the training helped more than anything else. It gave me something to focus on. And it really helped me bond with my horses.” That had healed his heart better than anything, bonding with his horses and spending even more time with them.

“That’s great,” said Louisa, beaming. “At least it was useful for you as more than just a distraction.”

“Yeah, and at least I had you to be an example of why I shouldn’t work myself half to death,” said Viktor.

“I deserved that,” said Louisa, laughing. “In my defense, I’ve learned to stop doing that.”

“Good,” said Viktor. “About time.” Louisa smirked. He liked this, bantering with an old friend. Louisa was so easy to talk to about everything, even if she couldn’t relate all the time, she could at least listen and offer baked goods and hot beverages to make everything (at least temporarily) better.

“Wanna come in for a cuppa?” asked Louisa. Viktor remembered a time when he’d been confused by that question, but now, he knew that it meant coming inside for tea and, usually, cookies (or biscuits, as she called them).

“What better way to catch up?” said Viktor, smiling.

They caught up over tea and cookies in the kitchen of the house that belonged to Louisa’s father. Though Louisa lived in New Hillcrest now with her wife, she still often came back to at least visit her father. And his door was always open to her.

“So, I’m going to enter the big Jorvik Stables Championship at the end of the month,” said Viktor as they ate.

“Really?” asked Louisa. Viktor nodded, taking a bite out of his cookie.

“You should enter too,” said Viktor. “You train all the time, surely you must have some champions among them. Isn’t Starknight the son of a Soul Steed?”

“Yes,” said Louisa. “But do you really think I can do it?”

“You’ve gotta have some more confidence in you, girl,” said Viktor, nudging her. “You’ve won some other championships, you should at least enter. Come on, it’ll be great.”

“I guess I don’t have much to do,” said Louisa. “I’m ahead of the new horse shipments now. No more horses to train at the moment, I’ve just been trying to get some good scores.”

“Beat any of mine yet?” asked Viktor. 

“Almost,” said Louisa. “I’m only a few seconds behind you on the Challenging Greendale track.”

“Showjumping’s more my thing, anyway,” said Viktor with a shrug. “How are you on those?”

“Terrible,” said Louisa, taking a sip of her tea.

“Maybe I should give you some tips,” said Viktor.

“Lisa’s tried to, but I’m just not very good at it,” said Louisa.

“Well, I don’t see Lisa’s name at the top of the scoreboards,” said Viktor. “We’ll do some training sessions.”

“But you’re busy training for the championship now,” said Louisa.

“The championship includes showjumping,” said Viktor. The championships had changed a lot since he’d come to Jorvik, from big cross-country races to multi-day events filled with all sorts of disciplines. Even western riding was featured sometimes.

“I guess,” said Louisa. She looked nervous, and Viktor was blown away by the fact that he was intimidating someone. Him, the guy who’d once thought that he’d amount to nothing, who’d been told, again and again, that he was nothing. He grinned, putting his freckled hand on top of Louisa’s.

“Tomorrow morning at nine,” said Viktor. “At the Baroness’ Riding Hall. Be there.”

“Nine?” Louisa echoed, dismayed. “That’s so early!”

“Girl, I’ve been getting up at six since I changed my routine,” said Viktor with a laugh. “But alright, if you’re late, that just gives me more time to train.”

“Exactly,” said Louisa. “I’ll be late.”

“I’ll come by your place around seven,” said Viktor. “If you’re not awake, I’ll wake you.”

“Y’know, I’ve always wanted a sassy gay friend,” said Louisa. Viktor smirked at her.

“Well, you helped create one,” said Viktor. “I’m the gay man I was always meant to be.”

“An absolute queen, Queenhurricane,” said Louisa. She lifted her mug, and Viktor clinked them together in a toast to her new training regimen. He had a thing or two to teach her. Oh, how the times had changed. The sad Puerto-Rican who’d set foot on Jorvik all those years ago, who’d been through literal hell in Pandoria, had walked out the other side. He’d rebuilt himself, putting the pieces back together, and then had to rebuild himself again when the first reconstruction had shattered. But now… now, he was better. He was happy, damn it. The kind of happiness that came from within, that came from knowing, without a doubt, that he was okay. That he’d be okay. That it would be clear skies and happy days from here on out.

And if the walls of his bedroom were decorated with blue ribbons? Well, so much the better.


End file.
